INDIANAPOLIS – This time, Jonathan Taylor didn’t just finish.
He finished!
Twice.
After weaving through and running away from the Tennessee Titans defense for a 65-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter – that was a nice springing wham block from tight end Drew Ogletree – Taylor crossed the goal line, ran through the end zone and headed up the tunnel at the South end of Lucas Oil Stadium.
Think of Bo Jackson.
“I already had predetermined in my mind: ‘The next time, I’m going all the way in the tunnel,’’’ Taylor said.
Then, just for kicks, after a 70-yard sprint/TD on the first play of the third quarter – nice pulling block, Matt Goncalves – Taylor leaned as he crossed the goal line. That’s often a signature pose.
Think of an Olympic sprinter breaking the tape.
Then dropping the football.
A week ago, Taylor was answering how he dropped the football and the Indianapolis Colts’ season on what should have been a 41-yard touchdown at Denver.
“That will never happen again,’’ he said more than once.
It didn’t happen Sunday.
“That’s something not common for me,’’ Taylor said. “A mishap that’ll never happen again.’’
Not against the Titans.
And not with the Colts still clinging to flickering playoff hopes.
“Phenomenal,’’ Shane Steichen said of his feature back. “I don’t think he could have responded any better.
“He was phenomenal all day.’’
Colts 38, Titans 30.
It was an obscure game on the NFL radar that offered a little bit of everything:
*With Pro Bowl center Ryan Kelly back after missing five games with a knee injury and All Pro guard Quenton Nelson refusing to let a nasty ankle injury keep him on the bench, the Colts ran 50 times for a franchise record 335 yards. The previous mark (318) was established by the 1956 Baltimore Colts. Alan Ameche. Lenny Moore. John Unitas. Alex Sandusky. Those guys.
*Taylor finished with 218 yards and three touchdowns, including those two long-distance runs on 29 attempts. That’s the second-most of his career. He eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the third time in his career, and it only felt like he got 1,000 against the Titans.
“Shout out to the guys up front,’’ he said. “They do a ton of heavy lifting week-in and week-out.’’
*Taylor became the first Colt with two TD runs of least 65 yards in the same game since at least 1994.
*After Anthony Richardson’s interception late in the first quarter, Steichen dialed up 12 consecutive runs on, including 10 on the next two drives. The result on the ensuing possessions: 137 yards and TD runs of 5 yards by Richardson and 65 by Taylor.
*The Colts fell behind 7-0, then scored 38 unanswered points.
*Aided by Indy losing interest in the third quarter, the Titans rolled up 23 unanswered points to close to within one possession with 2 minutes, 53 seconds remaining.
*Kenny Moore II had a pair of interceptions against Mason Rudolph, including the walk-off pick as time expired, and Samuel Womack III added a third. The Titans pushed their giveaway total to a league-high 32.
*DeForest Buckner showed the impact of five tackles, one tackle one loss, one quarterback hit and one patted down pass.
After seeing their playoff hopes virtually obliterated with the loss at Denver, the Colts remain relevant with two games remaining. Barely.
According to the New York Times’ simulator, Indy has a 13% chance of reaching the postseason for the first time since 2020. The Colts must win their final two games – next Sunday at the New York Giants, home against Jacksonville – and have the 9-6 Los Angeles Chargers lose their final two games at New England and at the Las Vegas Raiders.
There are other convoluted scenarios, but a 9-8 finish between the Colts and Chargers is the simplest.
And all in large part because Steichen and coordinator Jim Bob Cooter devised a game plan that put the football in the hands of their two most influential players.
Taylor.
And Richardson, who passed just enough to let his running backs catch their breath. He was 7-of-11 for 131 yards with an early interception and a 27-yard TD to Josh Downs, who eluded a tackle and then tip-toed down the right sideline.
One of his biggest completions was a 10-yarder to Michael Pittman Jr. on third-and-8 from the Indy 34 just after the 2-minute warning. It enabled the Colts to play keep-away for much of the rest of the game.
It mattered not a bit that Richardson’s 11 attempts were the fewest in a win by a Colt since Marty Domres in 1974.
Sunday marked just the third time since 2000 a team scored at least 38 points with its quarterback attempting fewer than 15 passes.
“I normally don’t keep track of how many attempts,’’ Richardson said. “I’m glad we were able to run and get the dub today.
“As long as we get the W, I’m not mad at it.’’
Richardson finished with a career-best 70 yards and a TD, and set a single-season club record for rushing by a quarterback (499) in the process.
This was about Taylor and the run game.
“I mean, you kind of want to be able to run it every game,’’ Steichen said, “but obviously, it was going good. It was going good and guys were popping it.’’
Steichen’s response from the sideline when Taylor was “popping it’’?
“I’m just smiling, saying, ‘He’s gone,’’’ Steichen said.
Added Kelly: “There’s nothing sweeter than being on the 40-uard line and seeing JT house one to the crib. That’s the best.’’
The record afternoon was a collaborative effort: the offensive line, the tight ends, the receivers, Richardson.
And Taylor, whose analytical mind whirls once he settles behind Richardson and especially when a handoff is followed by a gapping seam and daylight.
“You get excited, sometimes maybe a little too excited,’’ he said. “When you see that you get excited then you kind of start analyzing: “OK, where are defenders? How much room do I have on the sideline?’
“Once it gets to a certain point, it’s just a footrace: ‘I’ve gotta get in there.’’’
Taylor insisted he moved quickly past the Denver mistake.
“After you watch it Monday, you know you’re on to the next week,’’ he said.
The Colts’ big day came against a Titans’ run defense that was ranked No. 12 in the league, but gave up at least 200 yards for the second time in four games.
“The speed of Jonathan Taylor showed up and we couldn’t get him on the ground,’’ Titans coach Brian Callahan said. “He had a couple of explosive runs, and sometimes that’s all it takes.’’
Taylor’s impressive bounce-back game didn’t surprise Richardson.
“It’s great,’’ he said. “We never think about the past too, too much. It’s football. It’s life. Adversity is going to hit you one way or the other.
“It’s about how you bounce back from it. I feel like we did a great job with that this week. Shout out to JT and the o-line for doing their thing.’’
True to form, Taylor kept directing his attention back to the Colts and their desperate attempt at reaching the postseason.
“We just needed to get the win,’’ he said. “We need to keep that goal in sight.
“It’s a chance. It’s slim, but it’s a chance.’’
You can follow Mike Chappell on Twitter at @mchappell51.
